iOS isn’t the most convenient operating system when it comes to sending files. You could rely on online solutions, such as Dropbox and Skydrive, or a good old cable to share files with your iPad, but these methods are restrictive and inconvenient.

If you’re a Mac user, you’ve probably heard of AirDrop, a useful feature built into OS X that lets you wirelessly share files between Macs without any set up. Instashare does just that on several platforms: it’s the easiest way to transfer files from a device to another, no matter what operating system you’re using.(more…)

This week, Google made a ton of announcements about new software products, but the one that we spent the most time talking about here at iPad.AppStorm is Google Hangouts. This is the product that makes Google Plus worth having for many of us. We see it as kind of a big deal.

When the opportunity came to review the new Hangouts app for iPad, I jumped at it. I don’t need another way to communicate — in fact, I think we all communicate with each other way too much — but I wanted to give it a shot and see what all the hoopla was about. I’m always looking for a better way to communicate. Let’s find out if Google Hangouts is, in fact, a better way to chat with friends.

Without a doubt one of my favourite ways to use my iPad is as my personal small-screen cinema. Unfortunately, the stock Videos app is incredibly lacklustre in almost every department. This is where CineXPlayer comes in, as it is without a doubt the most powerful video player available for iOS.

Truth be told, up until recently I was fairly impartial about CineXPlayer as my video player, but when it received a new update a few weeks bringing with it a slew of new features and a stunning revamped interface, it cemented itself as my video player of choice. But why bother replacing the stock Videos app with a third-party one, you ask? Eell, along with the extra features that these apps have, the main advantage is being able to directly copy your video over to your iPad — regardless of its format — eliminating basically the need for converting your video files.

Don’t you sometimes wish you had some additional screen space when working on your computer? The easy solution to this would be getting an extra monitor, but these are bulky and costly. Mini Display can easily solve your problem by transforming your iPad into an external display. This way, you can use your iPad as a second screen to display additional content.(more…)

Google has slowly been infiltrating Apple’s ecosystem for years now, but their secret weapon has become the Google Search app. While the app used to be just a search engine, it’s become a search engine, a Chrome-like web browser, and even a so-called Siri competitor with its Voice Search function.

Jesse Virgil took a look at the last major incarnation of Google Search with an excellent review that really gets into the grits of what makes the app awesome. Today, Google has released version 3.0, which comes with only a few substantial improvements over the older version, including the much-touted Google Now feature.

Some people want better file management on the iPad, which means that they’ll probably need Documents. The app comes as a total revamp of ReaddleDocs and is even more capable than the old version. Readdle claims that its 4.0 update makes it the must-have app for iPad and its actual rhetoric claims that Documents makes your iPad worth its high price are especially bold— especially for an app that’s completely free.

Documents aims to do a ton of things in an elegant way. According to the app’s description, it claims to be a “document viewer, PDF reader, download manager, music player and read it later” replacement, along with a whole host of other things. I’m always wary of apps that do this much, as there’s always the potential to be a jack of all trades and master of none, or worse: completely impossible and inelegant to use. The simple question is, though, can Documents be as powerful as its developer claims while still remaining easy to use? Let’s find out.

When it was teased on their home page a couple of days back, forums and blogs around the world exploded with rumours about what the new app from the “shockingly good software developers” Panic was going to be. And today, those rumours have been debunked. Panic have released an iPad dashboard app, innocently named Status Board, making it the sixth app from these acclaimed developers.

Panic’s foray into iOS app development has been limited to Diet Coda (which we reviewed back in June 2012) and Prompt, an SSH client for the iPhone and iPad, however Status Board marks a radical shift towards more consumer-orientated apps — something which your dear author appreciates terribly. Their reputation for making functionality and features sexy at the same time is something that has grabbed everybody’s attention, and Status Board is absolutely no exception to this.

With the recent trend in the App Store it is surprising to see a weather app which is not following the bandwagon by making the simplest one possible. Seasonality Go breaks this trend by trying to become your weather power station. Instead of finding simple colors with a sliver of weather data and no real grasp of weather predictability, Seasonality Go provides a complete weather solution showcasing weather prediction with current weather conditions. When looking at weather apps there are always questions such as the reliability of the app and its weather data. Keep reading on to see how Seasonality Go stacked up in these crucial features.

When I take a moment to think about the number of devices my iPad and iPhone have replaced, it’s quite impressive. With these two devices I no longer need an MP3 player, camera, camcorder, GPS device, voice recorder, flashlight, calendar, calculator, dictionary, notepad, address book or guitar tuner. Another device that my iPad has replaced is nearly everyone’s least favorite device — the alarm clock.

I’ve tried third-party alarm clock apps like Alarm Clock HD and iHome+Sleep, but found the first-party Clock app provided a better overall experience. With that said, Rise Alarm Clock by Simplebots recently caught my eye with its gorgeous design and intuitive interface, and I wondered if it could be my go to alarm clock app. Find out the answer to that question after the jump. (more…)

The way television is delivered to customers is slowly becoming archaic. Previously in my old apartment I was forced to use a small cable company to deliver my television entertainment. The company provided high definition but that was about all of the extra features it offered. They did not provide any extra features like viewing content on my iPad or scheduling digital video recordings(DVR) through a website. Recently I moved into a house and I decided to try satellite. After comparing services I decided on Dish Network and their Hopper DVR

While Dish Network may not be perfect, I have been happy with their service and the Dish Anywhere app. It allows Dish Network subscribers to view featured content, browse the guide to see what is on, schedule and maintain DVR events, and also view live TV and DVR events with the optional Sling Adapter. Keep reading past the break to see if the Dish Anywhere app has been a welcome addition to my change in TV providers. (more…)